Copper and dust and Ingmar and Shirley

Just after the turn of the millennium I had a talented young art student named Ingmar. He made this drawing of a house complete with downspout, rain barrel, red tile roof, bee hive, and bird nest for me. It is one of my very favorite things, and I hope to find it in a moving box one of these days.

Today Ingmar performed a recital of Chopin and Scriabine works in Fontainebleau, France:

29 mars
« Le Jardin Musical », Fontainebleau, France - Récital - Œuvres de Chopin, Scriabine 

Life, work, and death circle round in patterns of curves and curls. And through all the eddies, vortices, spit curls, and tumbleweeds we can still count on Kirkus Reviews.

There's a new book out about Shirley Temple in the Great Depression at that Kirkus link above. Ingmar was obsessed with Shirley Temple movies when he was attending our school in Richardson, Texas. Now he has his own entry on Wikipedia.

A decade ago I wrote a blog post about Ingmar among other things. I still write posts about Ingmar and other things, like taking a tour through the Highland Park Town Hall. Finishing work continues on the renovation of the Town Hall with move-in scheduled for Easter weekend. Beautiful details are everywhere in the building, but my favorite is the copper gutter and downspout under the red tile roof.

No rain barrel or bee hive, though!



Highlights from the March first Kirkus Reviews issue:

1. A disabling fear of feathers can propel a novel. Feather phobia is Pteronophobia. I read a review recently of a novel about fear of buttons. That one is Koumpounophobia.
2. "...a shuffling zombie of a novel" (p. 6).
3. "...at least we won't have to hear any more about his writer's block" (p. 8).
4. "You'll never look at your Roomba the same way again." (p. 23).
5. And the winner is, "...a murky effort exacerbated by myriad shadowy agencies and a deeply unsympathetic protagonist." (p. 41).

© 2014 Nancy L. Ruder